One Of The Best New Fast Food Chains Of The Past Decade Is Backed By A 20-Year NFL Legend

While the American fast food landscape is dominated by legacy brands that have been around for decades, a string of up-and-comers have been making waves in recent years. Dave's Hot Chicken is perhaps the biggest success story: Started by three friends in an East Hollywood parking lot, the brand turned a $900 investment into an empire valued at more than $1 billion in less than a decade. But another entry on our list of the five best fast food chains of the past decade has quietly set itself up for explosive growth. We're talking about Smalls Sliders, the Louisiana-based fast food chain backed by NFL legend Drew Brees.

Brees is widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. He retired in 2021 with 13 Pro Bowl selections, a Super Bowl XLIV title and MVP award, and numerous passing records. Five years later, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As it turns out, the New Orleans Saints wasn't the only team he helped lead to success. While still an active player, Brees also became a successful food entrepreneur, building an impressive restaurant portfolio as a franchisee, co-owner, or investor, with stakes in brands including Jimmy John's, Dunkin', Walk-On's, and Everbowl.

Brees has been part of the Small Sliders story from the get-go. In 2019, when Walk-On's co-founder Brandon Landry came up with the idea of building a fast food chain entirely around premium cheeseburger sliders, Brees jumped at the opportunity. In just over half a decade, it has spread to more than 50 locations across 11 states, with over 300 locations sold or under development.

Smalls Sliders was named the fastest-growing restaurant brand in the U.S. in the 2026 Datassential 500, an annual report analyzing the top restaurant brands in America. There are several reasons for this momentum, starting with the very real demand for the product itself. The idea for the concept did not come from intuition or passion alone, but from pure numbers: Sliders were among the highest-selling food items at Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux. Landry was convinced there was potential to move them away from the appetizers section of the menu and make them the main character.

The operational structure is also a dream for franchisees. Instead of brick-and-mortar outlets, Smalls Sliders outlets are built inside repurposed, 800-square-foot shipping containers that require a relatively small real-estate footprint, and come equipped with drive-thru lanes and outdoor patios. Since these modular cans are prefabricated and assembled on site, it dramatically cuts the time to market for new outlets.

Then there's the menu, which essentially consists of beef sliders in different combinations. The OG Small Slider is a simple cheeseburger that features a fresh, never-frozen beef patty, cheese, pickles, and the chain's signature Smauce. Customers can upgrade to a Biggie Smalls by adding an extra patty and cheese, or add bacon to either option. As for sides, the menu also includes waffle fries and milkshakes. "We have less than 10 food ingredients in the restaurant, where a lot of quick-service restaurants have several hundred ingredients that they have to manage," chief development officer Richard Leveille told QSR. "Operators are really excited about that." Who knows, if the brand continues on this trajectory, it might even find itself on lists featuring the most influential restaurant chains ever.

Where Smalls Sliders is concerned, Brees brings in more than just star power. In addition to being one of the earliest investors and a co-owner, he is also a franchisee, having signed a four-unit agreement in 2023. Two of those locations are already up and running, in Elmwood and Metairie, Louisiana. A natural extension of his time as a pro athlete, Brees also brings a culture rooted in teamwork and trust to his restaurant businesses. "It's all about having the right people in the right places, and making sure everybody embraces their role and understands that they're part of something much greater than themselves," he shared with QSR.

In 2022, Small Sliders secured equity investment from 10 Point Capital, a PE firm with proven expertise in building out franchise models. In 2025, the company hired fast food veteran Charles Watson as CEO after his successful run leading Tropical Smoothie Cafe, where the brand grew to more than 1,500 locations.

"We can't field the calls and the level of interest fast enough," Brees said of the demand for opening new franchises. Smalls Sliders looks like it has a big future, and given how much it has going for it, it's very likely that an outlet will be coming soon to a neighborhood near you. In case there isn't, and all this talk of sliders has got you craving some, you could just go ahead and make a batch using these delicious slider recipes that can feed a crowd.